The Atlanta Falcons had a terrible day on Sunday, losing the NFC Championship Game and then finding out that Matt Ryan got injured in the fourth quarter. Ryan would have been out 3-4 weeks with the injury, but I think that Ryan would have dealt with the injury and played anyway if Atlanta made the Super Bowl, and we wouldn’t even have known about the full extent of it until after the game. Ryan has a bright future ahead of him with the Falcons, but injuries like this can’t help matters or make him feel any better about what happened.

Ryan had a first half of epic proportions as the Falcons jumped out to a 17-point lead, but saw it slip away yet again in the playoffs. While Ryan got hurt, I don’t think it really affected him that much, and it was more the San Francisco 49ers defense that ended Atlanta’s season. The Falcons have a ton of talent that will be around for years to come with Ryan being the centerpiece of that.

Hopefully Ryan heals properly this off-season, and is ready to get back to his high-flying self by the time the 2013 season gets underway, because Atlanta just isn’t the same team without him on the field. If Atlanta can keep up their winning ways again next season, they may be able to finally break through and make the Super Bowl. That would be big for Ryan more than anyone, just to get over his – and the team’s – playoff failures.

Andy Schmidt is a columnist/writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ASchmidtSports or like his Facebook page.